The superintendent of Johnson City Schools issued a formal apology to Kingsport City Schools administrators Monday after rumors of inappropriate behavior perpetrated by Science Hill High School students, staff and supporters at a hotly contested football game between the two high schools.

Director of Schools Richard Bales said he didn’t personally see any of the poor conduct reported on social media websites after Friday’s game, but he still emailed an apology to Kingsport’s superintendent and Dobyns-Bennett High School’s principal after hearing reports of destruction of property and pushing at the game between the longstanding next-door rivals.

“I felt like, not knowing if it was true or not, if it did happen, it shouldn’t have,” Bales said Monday. “If there was anything that happened in terms of inappropriateness or destruction of property, I wanted to apologize for the fans, the students and the staff.”